Best movies like The Traveler
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
The Traveler is a 1974 Iranian drama film directed by Abbas Kiarostami that tells the story of Hassan Darabi, a troublesome, amoral 10-year-old boy in a small Iranian town. He wishes to see the Iran national football team play an important match in Tehran. In order to achieve that, he scams his friends and neighbors. After a number of adventures, he finally reaches Tehran stadium at the time of the match. The film addresses the boy's determination in his goal and his indifference to the effects of his actions on other people, particularly those who are closest to him. In its element, the film is an examination of human behavior and the balance of right and wrong.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: spiritual
Best tv shows and movies like The Traveler (1974):
Similar in 84%
The Bright Day (2013)
Plot Summary:
THE BRIGHT DAY weaves a story that has its roots in the complexity of Iran’s draconian laws governing capital punishment. A kindergarten teacher hopes to aid the father of one of her young students, a man accused of manslaughter, by convincing each of seven reluctant witnesses to come forward. No one lacks a hidden agenda in this drama in which shades of truth collide with self-interest and the specter of payback. (Gene Siskel Film Center).
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 111
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: art film
Similar in 80%
Captain Khorshid (1987)
Plot Summary:
Captain Khorshid is a sailor who although only having one hand, manages to sail his little boat. In his village, due to its hot climate and hard living conditions, dangerous criminals are sent into exile. They want to escape from the area, so they ask a middleman to strike a deal with Khorshid. Khorshid is asked to illegally take them out of the country with his boat. At first he is reluctant, but because of the hardships of living he accepts the job.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 80%
Absolutely Tame Is a Horse (2011)
Plot Summary:
A corrupted police officer insists on bribing a broke man, so he has to go to everybody and do everything in order to be able to pay him in the very night.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: islamic
Similar in 86%
The Cycle (1977)
Plot Summary:
Ali and his father go from their poor neighborhood in the outskirts of the city to a hospital so that Ali's father can be treated for his sickness. However since they have no money, Ali starts to work for Dr. Sameri who deals in blood.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 779
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: banned
Similar in 82%
Mum's Guest (2004)
Plot Summary:
A mother of a poor family, has guests coming over, yet doesn't know how to get the dinner party altogether with limited resources.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: islamic, black comedy, dark comedy
Similar in 84%
Sara (1993)
Plot Summary:
Sara is the perfect young housewife. When husband Hessam requires an expensive emergency operation abroad, it is she who works for the funds. For the next three years she labors secretly to pay the shady loan shark and save Hessam - until the truth is revealed and with it, the reality of her marriage.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 730
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 86%
The Tenants (1987)
Plot Summary:
A satirical comedy about the oddball inhabitants of a Tehran apartment building and their landlord.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 82%
The Peddler (1987)
Plot Summary:
The movie consists of three episodes that explore the lives of poor and desperate in Iran. In episode one, a very poor couple with many crippled children abandon their newly born baby in hopes that it will have a better future. In the second episode, a mentally impaired and isolated young man tries to take care of his senile mother who is almost dead. In the third episode, a cowardly and desperate peddler tries to escape from his boss.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 414
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: anthology
Similar in 84%
Here Without Me (2011)
Plot Summary:
The story is about the world of a small family with familiar dreams and not so remarkable problems. The mother is trying to lead everything to save her family, but small events disarrange all her plans.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sentimental, melancholic, disturbing, islamic
Similar in 84%
The Brick and the Mirror (1965)
Plot Summary:
Hashem (Zakariya Hashemi) is a cab driver who finds an infant child in the back seat of his cab one night after he gives a ride to a young woman. Hashem and his girlfriend, Taji (Taji Ahmadi), try to cope with this unwanted child. Hashem insists on getting rid of the child, Taji on keeping him.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 863
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 83%
The River's End (2003)
Plot Summary:
A young man leaves his birthplace, Isfahan, to come to capital city ,Tehran, to forgot his childhood memories. He is the storyteller and he tarts revealing his dreams which have been started a few months after the death of his father. In these dreams father persuades him to go to the Gav Khuni Swamp.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 435
Genere: Drama, Fantasy
Country: Iran
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 79%
Mother (1990)
Plot Summary:
The film progresses along two distinct but interwoven series of events. The first series involves young members of a family who have gathered round their old mother and revive their common childhood memories. the second line focuses on the old woman's preparations for her last journey and her joyous cooperation in arranging for the ceremonies that are to be observed after her death.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: spiritual, islamic, interesting
Similar in 75%
Offside (2006)
Plot Summary:
Since women are banned from soccer matches, Iranian females masquerade as males so they can slip into Tehran's stadium to see the game between Iran and Bahrain. The ones who are caught and arrested are taken to a holding area and guarded by soldiers. One sympathetic soldier agrees to watch the game through a peephole and recount the action to the impatient fans.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Sport
Country: Iran
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: humorous, political, disturbing, realistic, captivating, dark comedy, inspirational, semi serious, funny, light
Similar in 79%
M for Mother (2006)
Plot Summary:
What appears to be a grand love story turns sour when parents-to-be discover that their unborn child will likely be born with serious birth defects, as a result of the mother's exposure to chemical weapons during the Iran-Iraq war. The father does not want to have a disabled child, but the mother insists on going through with the pregnancy.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: sincere, captivating, sad, islamic, entertaining
Similar in 90%
Travellers (1992)
Plot Summary:
A young woman's wedding becomes a ritual of mourning when her sister and family die in an auto accident on the way to the wedding. The sisters' mother refuses to accept her daughter's death, and in the midst of wedding guests and mourners, including the drivers of the truck that caused the accident, she orders the wedding to take place. But how can the daughter marry in the midst of a wake and without the family's traditional mirror, which the sister was bringing to the service?.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, beautiful
Similar in 78%
Life and a Day (2016)
Plot Summary:
Somaieh, the youngest daughter of an indigent family, is getting married and fear is overwhelming each and every member of the family regarding how to overcome their difficulties after she's gone.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: captivating, suspense, beautiful
Similar in 82%
The Cyclist (1989)
Plot Summary:
The wife of Nasim, an Afghan immigrant in Iran, is gravely ill. He needs money to pay for her care, but his day labor digging wells does not pay enough. A friend connects Nasim to a two-bit promoter who sells tickets to watch Nasim ride a bicycle continuously for a week. The promoter brings in sick and aged spectators, haranguing them to find hope in Nasim's strength. Aided by his son, who feeds him as he rides, Nasim grinds out the days and shivering nights. Local officials believe this may be a plot and Nasim may be a spy; they try to sabotage him as do those who bet he won't finish the week. Will desperation alone get Nasim the money? Is any triumph an illusion?.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: islamic, psychological, sincere, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 79%
The Cow (1969)
Plot Summary:
An old villager deeply in love with his cow goes to the capital for a while. While he's there, the cow dies and now the villagers are afraid of his possible reaction to it when he returns.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: depressing, art house, islamic, psychological, atmospheric, touching, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic
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Shirin (2008)
Plot Summary:
A hundred and fourteen famous Iranian theater and cinema actresses and a French star: mute spectators at a theatrical representation of Khosrow and Shirin, a Persian poem from the twelfth century, put on stage by Kiarostami. The development of the text -- long a favorite in Persia and the Middle East -- remains invisible to the viewer of the film, the whole story is told by the faces of the women watching the show.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: experimental, atmospheric, contemplative, stylized, emotional, art house, islamic, slow cinema, aesthetic, offbeat
Similar in 82%
Hamoun (1990)
Plot Summary:
Hamoon's wife is leaving him. He is also unsuccessfully trying to finish his Ph.D. thesis. He is forced to reexamine his life. In a series of flashbacks and dreams, Hamoon tries to figure out what he did wrong.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: existential, spiritual, islamic, cult classic, psychological, sentimental, sincere, serious, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 75%
The Mirror (1997)
Plot Summary:
When a young Iranian's mother doesn't meet her after school, she tries to negotiate the streets of Tehran by herself.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: inspirational, serious, experimental, neorealism
Similar in 84%
The Runner (1984)
Plot Summary:
Amiro is a young boy who has lost his home during the war. He spends his days by working odd jobs, until he realizes that the only way that he can realize his dreams is by enrolling in school. In school, he has conflict with other students. Finally there is a competition to see who can say the whole alphabet in one breath.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 79%
Through the Olive Trees (1994)
Plot Summary:
The movie focuses on one of the events in Zendegi Edame Darad (1992), and explores the relationship between the movie director, and the actors. The local actors play a couple who got married right after the earthquake. In reality, the actor is trying to persuade the actress that they should get married.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran, France
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: contemplative, social, avant garde, art house, independent film, islamic, psychological, mind bending, touching, serious
Similar in 79%
Boutique (2004)
Plot Summary:
A clothing store worker (Jahan) meets a poor girl named Eti. Jahan tries to help the girl and solve her problems, but….
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, serious, realistic, neo noir, islamic, emotional, gloomy
Similar in 79%
The Deserted Station (2002)
Plot Summary:
On a pilgrimage to Mashad from Tehran, a couple's transportation breaks down, far from any major town. The husband, a photographer, seeks help at a nearby village and encounters a teacher who offers to help. Whilst the husband and teacher go off to find a spare part, the wife, who used to be a teacher, takes over the teaching lessons in the village. It is clear that the children live there, in this strange deserted place, without any men, save the teacher and an old signal guard. As the day draws on, the children help to bring a new hope and life into the wife's heart.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 649
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: psychological, sentimental, touching, serious, islamic, sincere, thought provoking, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 87%
Ten (2002)
Plot Summary:
A visual social examination in the form of ten conversations between a driving woman and her various pick-ups and hitchhikers.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran, France, USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: talky, melancholic, light, intense, sincere, thought provoking, touching, realistic, art house, contemplative
Similar in 84%
The Wind Will Carry Us (1999)
Plot Summary:
Irreverent city engineer Behzad comes to a rural village in Iran to keep vigil for a dying relative. In the meanwhile the film follows his efforts to fit in with the local community and how he changes his own attitudes as a result.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran, France
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: philosophical, melancholic, thought provoking, touching, serious, contemplative, art house, cerebral, compassionate, slow cinema
Similar in 87%
The Father (1996)
Plot Summary:
Mehrollah is a 14-year-old boy who is forced to find a job to support his family after his father dies. He travels to the southern parts of Iran, looking for work. Upon his return to his hometown, he notices certain changes in his family.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: inspirational, islamic, bleak, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 85%
Taste of Cherry (1997)
Plot Summary:
A middle-aged Tehranian man, Mr. Badii is intent on killing himself and seeks someone to bury him after his demise. Driving around the city, the seemingly well-to-do Badii meets with numerous people, including a Muslim student, asking them to take on the job, but initially he has little luck. Eventually, Badii finds a man who is up for the task because he needs the money, but his new associate soon tries to talk him out of committing suicide.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 35000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran, France
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: art house, contemplative, road movie, independent film, philosophical, spiritual, existential, slow cinema, psychological, sincere
Similar in 84%
Where is the Friend's Home? (1987)
Plot Summary:
An 8 year old boy must return his friend's notebook he took by mistake, lest his friend be punished by expulsion from school.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: Iran
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: social, art house, inspirational, road movie, thought provoking, independent film, islamic, touching, feel good, serious